US economic recession to hurt China

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-10-31 10:30

American economists are forecasting that U.S economy, which contracted 0.3 percent in the third quarter, will shrink by more than 2.5 percent in the October-December period.

The belt-tightening of American consumers, who lowered their spending in the last few months, unnerved by a worsening financial meltdown and a gloomier economic outlook, is to have very negative repercussions for the Chinese economy, which has been relying on export shipments to the United States, Europe and elsewhere to gain momentum.

The US Commerce Department reported on Thursday that its gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 percent from July to September, a sharp reversal from the 2.8 percent increase in the second quarter. American personal consumption declined 3.1 percent in the quarter, the biggest spending decline recorded since the 1980 serious recession. Sales of big-ticket items like cars and home appliances plummeted by 14.1 percent.

American wholesale dealers have been forced to cancel contracts or cut orders from China. A flurry of southern China toy plants have closed doors because of withering overseas demands.

Many believed that even if the economic contractions in the US turn the corner, joblessness will continue to rise here and there.

Like the United States, the Chinese economy has also been troubled by a sudden sales lull of housings. In Beijing and other cities, more property developers have stopped building apartment buildings, leaving many cranes and construction sites unattended.

Although China's central bank has cut the benchmark interest rates three times in a month, potential home buyers choose to wait for deeper drops in the prices.